Moving Dutchess 2 represents the Dutchess County Transportation Council's (DCTC's) sixth Metropolitan Transportation Plan, continuing a 30-year tradition of strategic transportation planning in Dutchess County. From our designation in 1982 as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Poughkeepsie Metropolitan Area, to our present role in the three-county Mid-Hudson Valley Transportation Management Area (TMA), the DCTC has sought to meet the transportation planning needs of Dutchess County and its communities. This goal has been at the core of previous plans and endures with Moving Dutchess 2.

The DCTC developed our transportation priorities through a review of existing guidance, input from state and local agencies, analysis of demographic and transportation data, and feedback from the public. We chose to identify specific projects to increase the value of the Transportation Plan to public agencies and communities, providing them greater detail on where to target investments. Recommendations are divided into short‐range (2016‐2020), mid‐range (2021‐2030), and long‐range (2031‐2040) time periods, which relate to the project’s priority and complexity, as well as funding availability.

Since there is insufficient funding to reach a true state of good repair, Moving Dutchess 2outlines a preservation‐based approach to address transportation safety and mobility. For example, more than half of our recommended funding is dedicated to highway and bridge maintenance. However, we also recommend projects that go beyond preservation, including two regionally significant, long‐range initiatives:

Redesigning the Route 9/44/55 interchange in the City of Poughkeepsie

Redesigning the I‐84/Route 9D interchange in the Town of Fishkill

Moving Dutchess 2 outlines a strategy to meet the transportation needs of Dutchess County. Though we face numerous challenges in the coming years, including demographic changes, ever-aging infrastructure, and constrained funding resources, none of this frees us from the responsibility to plan for the future. We believe that Moving Dutchess 2 satisfies this purpose.